27 Before 27 Update

Last July, I made a list of 27 things that I wanted to accomplish before I turned 27. My deadline is coming up soon, so I thought I should get out the list again and assess how I'm doing:

1. Paint the bedrooms (We've painted our bedroom, but still need to paint the guest bedroom.)
2. Organize the office-- it was almost organized, then the pup moved in and it's a hot mess again.
3. Have a garage sale
4. Eat more vegetables
5. Make the perfect homemade salsa (I think I've found "the one")
6. Get a puppy(?) Done! Love my pup.
7. Grow an herb garden (Planted. Sprouted. Got eaten by squirrels. I'm just going to have to buy the mature plants.)
8. Take a photography class
9. Plant a fruit tree
10. Paint the fence, porch, and pergola
11. Plant a climbing vine on the pergola after painting it
12. Figure out how to organize the video game equipment (Done.)
13. Re-tile the bathroom
14. Learn to make at least five crockpot recipes (Got it. I'll share more soon.)
15. Clean out the hall closet in order to store craft supplies there
16. Thrift for a coffee table
17. Find affordable rugs for the living room and office
18. Backup computer files
19. Change bedroom light fixture
20. Host at least one party (Done. The Favorite Things party was such a lot of fun. I definitely plan to host another later this summer.)
21. Pack my lunches for work
22. Eat a healthy breakfast each day (Most of the time)
23. Make a meal plan each week (Still haven't done this on a consistent basis. Unfortunately.)
24. Take my vitamins each day (I am doing this now. Love my gummy vitamins.)
25. Create at least one piece of art
26. Make at least half of all Christmas presents this year (DIdn't happen. Maybe this year...)
27. Organize the pantry

I haven't gotten as much done on the list as I wanted, but I'm cutting myself some slack since it's been a rough year for me. There are a few things that I am still going to get done though before my July 22 deadline!

Have a garage sale: We need to have a garage sale. The extra cash would be nice, but our potting shed desperately needs to be cleared out. So within the next few weeks, this one should be crossed off.

Organize the pantry: Waiting on Josh for this one. We bought the materials awhile back to convert the shelves into rolling shelves. He has a plan. He just hasn't had the time yet.

Create at least one piece of art: I've an idea rolling around in my head.

Change bedroom light fixture, thrift for coffee table, paint the fence, buy rugs, re-tile bathroom: Probably won't get done because money is really tight right now. Hubby is trying to find a job, the washer just broke, and some unexpected bills came up...sounds like life, right? :)

On a happier note, I'll leave you with this cuteness:

Indiana

What I've been up to the last month and a half:

8 weeks old

He was 8 weeks old when we picked him up. He weighed only 20 pounds.

9 weeks old

10 weeks old

He sleeps all the time.

11 weeks old

14 weeks old

Six weeks later we took Indy to the vet again and he had doubled in size.

 Now at 14 weeks old, he is 43 pounds. 

He's such a sweetie.

I'm a proud mama.

What To Do With Leftover Hard-Boiled Eggs: Basic Deviled Eggs

My husband made one request for Easter: deviled eggs. He loves eggs. He's been known to eat ten deviled eggs in one sitting. I don't make these very often because I don't like them. 

And I think they stink. 

And my husband doesn't have much self-control around them.

But when he makes an easy request like that, I had to make them. 

I know a lot of people have hard-boiled eggs around after Easter, so this recipe should be pretty timely. This  version is basic. Josh likes most things plain, so he didn't want me to add anything fancy like chipotle peppers or bacon If those things sound good though, you should add them to the yolk mixture if that floats your boat.

The ingredients you need:

• 1 dozen eggs (preferably a few days old, really fresh ones will be more difficult to peel)
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1/2 cup mayo
• 2 teaspoons mustard
• salt
• pepper
• paprika (optional)

1. First we need to hard boil the eggs. If you have a preferred method of hard boiling eggs, skip this step. Otherwise, put the eggs into a large pot and fill it with cold water so that the eggs are covered by at least an inch of water.

Set the burner on medium-high heat until the water reaches a gentle boil. Then, slide the pot off the heat and cover for 12 minutes.

After 12 minutes, place eggs immediately in ice water to stop the cooking process.

2. Peel the eggs under running water.

3. Slice each egg in half and scoop out the yolks into a medium-size bowl.

4. Add the vinegar, mustard, and mayo to the yolks. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Mix, mix, mix!

6. Now you have two choices: spoon the yolk mixture back into the egg whites or pipe it in. I chose to pipe it in because I think it's easier to control and looks prettier. If you don't want to bother, then just plop it in with a spoon.

You can call them done now.

Or you can sprinkle on a little paprika like I did here. Or dill. Or whatever herb or spice you like.

Enjoy!

The Best Easter Dessert: Resurrection Rolls

Growing up in my family, we always had the same dessert every Easter that I can remember.

Resurrection rolls.

If you've never heard of them, then you're in for a real treat. They're warm, gooey, sugary deliciousness. Plus, they also remind us of what the day is really all about.


It's a simple recipe.

You'll need:
crescent roll dough
1/4 c. melted butter
1 tablespoon cinnamon mixed with 4 tablespoons sugar
marshmallows


My parents talked about the resurrection story while we made these as a family.

First, you press out the crescent roll dough a bit. This represents the burial clothes in which Jesus was wrapped.

Next, you take the marshmallow, which represents the body of Christ, and dip it in the melted butter which represents the burial oil.

Then roll it in the cinnamon and sugar mixture. This would represent the burial spices.

Then you wrap the marshmallow with the crescent roll dough (burial clothes).

Fold in the three corners, then pinch them tight.

You want to make sure that it sealed pretty well, so that it won't later make a big mess. Place them on a baking sheet lines with greased wax paper.

Then Christ's body was laid in a tomb, which in this case . . .


is the oven.

Then after three days . . .

(or rather, 12 minutes in a 350 degree oven or until the dough is a light golden brown)


. . . Jesus rose from the grave!

When people came to the tomb it was found empty.

The rolls will maintain their shape pretty well and when you break them open, it will seem as if the marshmallow disappeared.

Pretty neat, huh?

Oh, and delicious!


Happy Easter.

Weekend Recommended Reading

Project Organize Your Entire Life at Modern Parents Messy Kids

How To Dye Your Hair with Chalk (one-wash wear) from Little Pink Monster

Scotch Tape Cat Eye from Prudent Baby

(I tried it-- it works!)

And since the Jayhawks are going to the championship game . . .

(Woohoo!)

Jayhawk Cake Pops from Ingredients of a 20 Something

The Top 50 Best Blogs of 2012

Babble just published their annual lists of the Top 50 Best Blogs of 2012.

They have six categories:

• the 50 best overall craft blogs of 2012
• the 50 best diy craft blogs of 2012
• the 50 best mom craft blogs of 2012
• the 50 best kid craft blogs of 2012
• the 50 best parent craft blogs of 2012
• the 50 most beautiful craft blogs of 2012

So far I've been working through the "best overall" list and noticed they have included some old favorites and also found some wonderful new-to-me blogs. I encourage you to peruse the lists to see if you'll find some new blog friends.

Happy Friday everybody!

IKEA!

Happy Spring break trip to me!

It took me about two days in Colorado Springs before I realized that I was about as close to an IKEA as I've ever been in my life.

Those of you who live near this modern marvel probably don't appreciate the how lucky you are. I had only read about the place.

When we turned the corner and I saw IKEA, it was like the heavens opened and I could hear angels singing. :)

The first glimpse from the car window

It was ginormous! (Cue my husband's typical "that's what she said" joke) For all the local people, I think it is even a little bigger than Nebraska Furniture Mart . . . I know. That's saying something.

The first thing we had to do is grab some lunch. I had heard that IKEA has some pretty stellar Swedish meatballs in their cafe. The rumors are true. Yummy.

Caught him checking his phone under the table. Can't blame the guy. He's with me in IKEA during March Madness. He loves me. Obviously.

He is so thrilled to shop and for me taking his picture. Can't you just feel the joy?

The genius of IKEA is that the upper floor is used to showcase everything laid out in rooms. You can see how everything can function in a kitchen setting or a living room setting, etc. I got so much inspiration from just wandering around the first floor.

Josh trying out a kitchen

I loved how they used a bar under the cabinets to hang a variety of things, such as these potted plants, cups of utensils, towels, etc.

We picked up a few of these wire/clip sets to hang some art in our bedroom.

Then there was the downstairs level . . .

It's row after row of home goodness. Unlike the upper level, it's divided up into departments.

I loved this canvas. It's huge. Probably 4 feet by 6 feet. Not bad for $150.

Another great canvas. For some reason, I'm drawn to trees in art. I have no idea why.

Josh decided we needed to take home a bamboo plant. Unfortunately, he stuck in the back window of the car for the road trip home and I think all the direct sunlight pretty much killed it. Oops.

The lighting department was pretty incredible. There were all sorts of unique lamps.

This was one of Josh's favorites. It also can serve as a stool and can support up to 330 pounds. Interesting, huh?

Lastly, as you exit the building, you go through the warehouse section of the store. If you buy any bigger pieces like furniture, this is where you pick it up.

This is picture of just one of the aisles. You can almost tell how vast this place is.

I imagine that I'll try to finagle my way into going to the IKEA every time I'm visiting my family in Colorado.

By the way, I had never tried writing out "finagle" before, so I had to look it up. I assumed it was spelled with two g's. Anyway, as I was looking it up on Google, it said that it's pronounced with a long "a" sound. "Fin-aye-gle." I've always heard it said "fi-nag-le". Is that just a weird Midwest thing?